Jelu

Jelu is an open-source, self-hosted web application for tracking books you have read, are reading, or want to read. It provides a web UI and an API for importing, exporting and managing a personal reading library on a single-file database.

Key Features

• Track reading history (by year/month), mark books as reading/finished/dropped and view stats.
• Manage a to-read list, tag books and create custom shelves via tags.
• Import/export support: CSV import (Goodreads export or ISBN list), EPUB/OPF metadata import, and CSV export of your data.
• Automatic metadata lookup using configurable providers (the default Java distribution can delegate to an external calibre metadata tool).
• Multi-user support with LDAP or reverse-proxy authentication, review writing and shared reviews on an instance, plus an HTTP API for integrations.
• Docker image and example Docker Compose provided for easy deployment; unofficial Helm/packaging integrations exist in third-party app catalogs.

Use Cases

• Individuals who want a private, portable book library and reading history without relying on third-party hosted services.
• Small communities or families sharing a single Jelu instance to track collective reading lists and reviews.
• Integrations and automation (scripts or external tools) that import/export reading data via the provided API and CSV tools.

Limitations and Considerations

• Metadata lookups currently rely on external providers and the included approach uses an external calibre metadata binary for some installs; that dependency requires extra configuration and the external providers’ availability can affect import quality.
• Default CORS in the bundled configuration is permissive; administrators should tighten CORS and auth settings before exposing an instance to untrusted networks.

In summary, Jelu is a focused, open-source personal book-tracking application with import/export tools, tagging, multi-user support and a frontend plus API aimed at replacing hosted book-tracking services. It is delivered as a JVM application and as a Docker image, with documentation and usage guides maintained by the project.